novelraw Chapter 413 - 221: A Chaotic World
Chapter 413 - 221: A Chaotic World
Alka felt himself floating in a peculiar world, his body—and he himself—extremely light. The surroundings seemed to have lost gravity; with nothing to grasp onto, he could only float in the air, drifting aimlessly with the natural flow. All around was pitch-black. He wanted to open his eyes, but it was as if an infinite weight pressed down on his eyelids, making it impossible. His limbs also seemed out of his control. He continued to float.
Alka opened his mouth to speak, but all he could do was open it silently. His throat and tongue moved, but no sound emerged. The words he wanted to say could not even echo in his own ears.
Strange thoughts echoed in Alka’s mind. Why can’t I speak? And where is this place? Right, what was I just doing? What *was* I just doing? No, I seemed to be sailing on the sea. That’s not right either; I seemed to be on an island. Oh, right, what was my name again? Where is this place?
Countless questions surged in his mind, yet it felt as if his brain was utterly empty. Every time a doubt arose, it instantly vanished, and he was no longer puzzled. Every thought that appeared would also suddenly disappear from his mind. His brain was compelled to empty, allowing it to rest. Thinking began to slow, thoughts became scarce, and ideas vanished. Without thought, there was no passage of time. The brain’s operations seemed to slow further, until it stopped functioning altogether.
Floating like this, Alka was like a corpse, a stone. He had no idea how long he had been floating; it seemed like many years, yet it also felt as if he had just begun to drift.
Suddenly, a downward pull of gravity. Alka, drifting in the endless void, abruptly began to fall, his speed increasing rapidly. The sensation of weightlessness as he plummeted startled him awake.
"HUFF! HUFF! HUFF..."
As his eyes flew open, Alka sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and looking around. He felt as if he had just been dreaming, but now he was awake.
They were still on the deck, but everyone around him had collapsed, as if asleep. The cable from the Sound of Dawn was still tied around his waist.
After taking a few deep breaths, Alka stood up and looked in the direction the ship was moving. Deep darkness enveloped the Sound of Dawn, obscuring everything from view. The ship itself seemed to be gently descending.
He couldn’t make out where they were. Alka looked at his companions. Everyone still seemed to be in a Deep Sleep. Alka nudged Chadite beside him. However, Chadite didn’t wake; she remained deeply asleep. The nudge didn’t stir her in the slightest. Even the one sitting on her shoulder also seemed soundly asleep.
The ship was not moving smoothly; it continued to sway. Fortunately, they were tied by the cable; otherwise, they would have been thrown off long ago in their sleep.
Seeing that there was truly no one he could wake, Alka had no choice but to stand there. "Sound of Dawn, what do you think you’re sailing on right now?"
As Alka asked, faint musical notes responded. After listening for a moment, Alka nodded. "It feels like we’re sailing on the sea?"
If only Chadite would wake up now,
Alka thought. She could possibly use her Dark Vision from the Ring of Light to see clearly what this surrounding darkness actually is. After all, her Dark Vision is exceptionally good. However, those on board still showed no signs of waking. Alka couldn’t help but ponder. He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep and let his body sink into the Dream Realm. But he couldn’t sink into it at all. There’s no Dream Realm here.
Regaining control of his body, Alka opened his eyes again. There’s actually no Dream Realm here? It was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation, and he couldn’t help but frown as he pondered.
According to his research on Dream Realms, his own thoughts, and recorded information, a lack of a Dream Realm indicated this was not a normal world. So where exactly is this place? Some kind of spatial interstice, or a layer between worlds?
This place was completely beyond Alka’s comprehension; he had no idea what it was. There was no information to base any deductions on, leaving only wild guesses.
Since there was nothing he could do at the moment, he sat down on the deck, observing the ship, which seemed to be moving forward. However, with no points of reference, he could only judge its movement by the swaying he felt. If the ship hadn’t still been swaying, Alka might have thought they were stationary in this world of darkness.
Meanwhile, the others around him remained in a Deep Sleep, showing no signs of waking. So why did I wake up? Just a while ago, when we were outside, they all fell into an irresistible illusion of seeing the dead. I could also see those phantoms, but I didn’t get lost in it. Could it all be because my transmigrated soul merged with this body, resulting in a soul stronger than others, leading to this peculiar phenomenon?
Still, with no information to cross-reference, Alka could only make random guesses. Thinking, at least, helped pass the time. He decided it was best to do nothing for now and simply wait.
Suddenly, a brilliant light shone out from the deep darkness ahead. The light grew larger and drew closer and closer.